It’s almost a month after the #EndSARS protest against police brutality that made wave across the country, a lot is still yet to return to normalcy. The protest which was initially peaceful turned bloody with loss of lives and wanton destruction of property.
The police, under whose formation the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit was founded became the prime focus of the street demonstrations and the mayhem that ensued.
From all indications, the police which was the main target of the public outcry is yet to recover. Policemen virtually disappeared from the public space. The Inspector General of Police had to issue a directive asking his men to return to the streets but investigations across the country revealed that things have not returned to normal.
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Policemen who are saddled with the responsibility of protecting commuters and residents are themselves afraid to walk freely on the streets in their service uniform. Apparently, their morale is low and they are yet to regain their confidence.
According to reports, in some places, criminals have taken advantage of the absence of the policemen which has resulted in upsurge of crimes in such areas.
Vanguard Newspaper in an investigative report revealed that the situation with policemen in different states of the country saddening.
In a chat, a police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed that the protest and attack against the police did not go down well with most of them. He said, “we were not happy that despite all we have done to protect people day and night, all they could do was to attack, kill and destroy our property. We are not the major cause of the problem, the police too are suffering, we have a lot of underneath problems we are facing but who do we run to? We have been working under an abnormal situation, I wonder how you expect the best from a man that has been subjected to poor accommodation, irregular allowances, and lack of working tools. The public can not do without police, we just need to manage ourselves and continue to endure until the right things are done by the concerned authorities.
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